Table of contents
Ask three corporate video production companies to quote the same brief and you will often get three very different numbers. The spread is not suspicious by itself. What is suspicious is a quote that gives one total and no breakdown. Split it into four cost blocks and the gap explains itself.
1. The Four Cost Blocks
Planning and script. Interviews, outline, narration, storyboard. This is the line most often discounted, and the one that turns into disputes later.
Production. Director, camera, lighting, location, equipment, talent or staff scheduling. Days and camera count drive this directly.
Post-production. Editing, grading, voiceover, music, subtitles, graphics. 3D animation and compositing are priced separately.
Rights and licences. Music, fonts, drone permits, location fees. Frequently omitted, then discovered after delivery.
Planning and rights are the invisible lines; production and post are the visible ones. Compare only the visible part and you will pick the cheapest quote that produces unusable footage.
2. Signing Off the Storyboard
| Section | Deliverable | What to check | Common gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening 15s | Setting and tagline | Industry and identity clear | Empty B-roll, no information |
| Capability | Line, equipment, certificates | Visuals match the written claims | Stock footage used |
| Case | Site or client scenes | Can the claim be verified | Logo wall only |
| Close | Contact and call to action | Phone and URL current | Old details reused |
Approve the storyboard before shooting. Restructuring after the shoot means reshooting.
3. Three Confirmations on Shoot Day
Confirm power and access before the crew arrives, especially on industrial sites where equipment must actually run. Confirm the staff schedule, and get signed consent from anyone appearing on camera. Confirm a backup plan: at least one spare camera body and a second storage set.
In most corporate video production workflows, on-site delay is the main driver of overrun. Location and crew costs are fixed per day; waiting for power, people or permits still burns budget.
4. Five Questions Before Signing
How many deliverable versions are included, and does that cover both landscape and vertical. How many revision rounds, and what is the rate beyond them. Are the raw files handed over. Do the music and font licences cover paid media, not just the website. Are payment milestones tied to storyboard approval.
On price, a workable starting split is roughly twenty percent planning, forty percent production, thirty percent post and ten percent rights and incidentals. Then look at which line was squeezed hardest — that is usually where the quality gap will show.
5. FAQ
How many days does a three-minute film take? One day for a single location; two to three for multiple sites or cities, plus half a day for aerial work.
Will staff look unnatural on camera? Give them the questions in advance, avoid scripted lines, and use an interview format.
Can we see a sample first? Yes, but ask whether it was shot in-house or assembled from stock, and which client and location it came from.
Related reading
- See also: how to plan a corporate film shoot day
- See also: three edits from one short video shoot
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